Comforting Rogue
by The Butterfly Mistress
Summary: "Rogue's distress cut through his heart. With unnatural ease, Logan's gloved hand slipped up to her head and began softly combing through Rogue's striped, auburn tresses." Ch2 is now up! Hope you enjoy!
1. Logan

Beta read by BlackTwistedTwilight. Thank you kindly! Any other mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy.

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Comforting Rogue

It was by accident that Logan found a way to soothe the X-men's gothic member. He "doted" on all the kids, in his own little ways. He gave them all nicknames, knew special ways to calm them or cheer them up, well most of them anyway. He wouldn't deny that he gave special attention to Rogue, and he wouldn't lie and say that she wasn't his favorite. They had more in common with each other than they did with anyone else in the group, and she needed it more than the rest of them did too. Much like Logan, Rogue stayed withdrawn from the others, understandably so, seeing as her 'gift' could kill any one of them, even accidently. So yes, Logan saw fit to spend more time with her, make her understand that she was cared for, loved even.

Logan spent time training the goth, talking to her, taking her places, doing anything that could make her face light up. She had her own special nickname, thanks to her two-toned hair. However, the only way Logan knew how to deal with her emotions, was to wear them out of her with a session in the danger room… That was, until the sullen teen was placed in the medbay from being ganged up on by a bunch of bullies from Bayville High. Xaiver had extracted the grueling details from the recesses of Rogue's frenzied, unconscious mind, and they were truly heartbreaking, even for the gruff Canadian.

Knowing full well that giving her attackers a dose of their own medicine would not undo the damage they had caused to his girl, did not lessen the Wolverine's desire to hunt them all down to pay them back in kind. Still, like the protective father he was, Logan did not find comfort in just sitting by his daughter-figure's bedside, waiting for her to awake so he could start helping her pick up the pieces of her life again. However, that was exactly what he was doing, furtively worrying more as time progressed.

Logan did not hold the concept of time, as he waited, begrudgingly patient, for any signs of life from the self-induced, comatose being beside him. He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting in that uncomfortable chair before his sensitive ears picked up on an almost imperceptible whimper. He momentarily thought that his mind was playing tricks on him, as Rogue had not even so much as flinched, but the sound came again. Slowly, the soft cries became louder and more insistent, as if the poor child was stuck in a nightmare. Of course, Logan knew that it was more than a simple, mind created dream of realized and unrealized fears, tormenting the goth. Time would heal the physical wounds, but the emotional and mental abuse would take work on everyone's part.

Rogue's distress cut through his heart. With unnatural ease, Logan's gloved hand slipped up to her head and began softly combing through Rogue's striped, auburn tresses. Gently kneading the scalp and petting the errant strands of hair down. After the initial flinch from the sudden, unknown contact, Rogue seemed to nuzzle against the sensation. Encouraged by the reaction, he continued his administrations a bit more firmly; content with offering what little comfort he could give to chase away the impending nightmare of reality.

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Pt 2 is still a work in progress! Please let me know whatcha think!


	2. Kurt

A/N: **Finally! Finals are complete and I'm out for Christmas break. Due to having more time, as you can see, I have finally finished "Comforting Rogue". I appreciate BlackTwistedTwilight for betaing the story. She has done a terrific job! I hope you all enjoyed the fic and have a very Merry Christmas!**

**~TBM~**

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Unconscious, in the med bay Med bay is two words, is the only time the aloof Goth would even allow the initiation of physical comfort. Which, with being unconscious, it wasn't like her conscious mind could protest. Even though it was quite clear that the teenager desired, needed, and deserved to be comforted, it was one of the many things the southerner absolutely detested to admit and refused to accept.

Kurt sighed as he sat down beside his adopted sister, he hated seeing her in such a state as much as Rogue hated being sick or injured. He was hesitant to touch her, fearful of disturbing her rare peace of mind, so he simply kept vigilance by her bedside in hope that she would soon awaken.

They say that "hindsight is twenty-twenty," Kurt couldn't think of truer words. He may not be the most observant person in the world, but he was her brother, for goodness sake! He should have noticed when the symptoms started showing, he should have seen her health starting to degrade, much sooner than before she started to steadily, yet quickly, decline. He didn't need to see medical files, or interact with Rogue, or even really know his sister, to know she came from a troubled past. He could see it in her eyes, distant, the way she held herself, guarded, or the way her countenance fell No comma needed when she thought no one was watching. Most would say it was because of her powers, or all the memories from everyone else; their pasts haunted her, not her own, she probably couldn't remember her own background past Mystique, but he knew that wasn't true. Even if she did state as much.

Despite what Rogue said or the way she acted around everyone else about Kurt, she loved the furry elf to pieces, and could often be found talking to him, about past, present and future. She would never go into detail, but once in a while, he'd catch her slip up: "I was never good enough for them." and "Words don't hurt so much, it was always sensations that caused the most pain." or bolting from nightmares, "No! Please, I'll be good." and "Daddy, please let me out!" He knew the past, her past, still haunted her very much, more than likely every day.

Therefore, he should have been one of the first to notice she had stopped taking meals, maintained minimal social contact that she could get away with, without raising suspicion, and was ultimately off her game. He shouldn't have fallen into the trap of "It's just Rogue being Rogue," he knew differently. Rogue paid the biggest price for their lack of observation and care. Not to say that they were solely to blame, Rogue did it to herself; she was equally at fault. The more the Goth neglected herself, the more she withdrew from them all; the more she withdrew from them, the more she neglected herself. It was a vicious cycle. After some time, Rogue had caught a simple flu virus, which was not uncommon in the winter months with everyone being cooped up together in one house; everyone would go through it at some point during the season. However, due to the state of her health, it turned into something much worse, leaving her quite ill in the med bay Med bay's two words at the end of the day.

Which comes back to the here and now, Kurt keeping watch over his sister as her body rests and recovers. Still, even a healing sleep is not without its cons, it is still a state of unconsciousness that her horrors can reach her within. Kurt was startled out of his reverie by the sleeping patient's jostling. She was twisting and turning, as if the sheets are the unseen enemy she had to escape from, unfortunately only furthering her entrapment and distress.

Careful to not awaken the girl, Kurt gently sat upon the side of the white hospital bed, turning to sit forward. The furry elf cautiously wrapped his arm around his sibling's covered shoulder, the touch caused the southerner to pause in her struggle, but renewed with vigor as her brother tugged her close to his side. His other hand came up to hold her head steady against his chest, to halt further harm should her fight become more difficult to manage. Tips of his fur danced lightly across her cheek as he brushed his thumb up and down. For a moment, as all fell still, the demon like mutant thought all was well, until his yellow orbs glanced down to see silent tears sliding down pale cheeks. Subconsciously, Kurt drew her nearer and began to rock side to side, a soft melody emanating from his lips. As time passed on, Rogue's breathing evened out and her body melted into Kurt's; snuggling as close as she could into the warmth, her arm gracefully slipped around him, ensuring his ministrations would not cease.

For now, Kurt would sit and rock his sister, fighting off the demons that plagued her. When she awakes, they would be having a long talk about her permitting him, and everyone else, to help fight them off during the day. She would not be allowed to end up this way again, not so long as he was there to prevent it.


End file.
